So there is good news and bad from the latest science from the spill. Last week the US government agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, released a report on dissolved oxygen levels in the Gulf Ocean. Oxygen levels are important – once … Read More
impact on wildlife
Spill Scientists Face Funding Crisis
So there were no surprises last week when BP published its whitewash into the Deepwater Horizon disaster. “BP report clears BP of blame in BP disaster” was how American comedians saw it. The fallout from the report, that concluded that “No single factor caused the Macondo well tragedy,” will continue though. The scientific fall out … Read More
It’s as if Deepwater Never Happened..
When the Deepwater disaster occurred in the Gulf of Mexico four months ago, many commentators argued that this was a “game changer” that would change the energy debate forever. Politicians and the public would realise that the ecological and social cost of offshore drilling was becoming unacceptable, the thinking went. If you morph the lessons … Read More
Scientists told to “Shut Up” Over Spill
Yesterday the environmental campaign group Greenpeace announced it was launching a three-month expedition to analyse the impact of BP’s oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico. The Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise will “host independent scientists who will be researching the impacts of oil and chemical dispersants on Gulf ecosystems and marine life,” said John … Read More
“Its too early to make any conclusions about the true scale of the damage.”
Yesterday the reporting on this issue went like this: BP has successfully plugged the well, and the US government said that 75 per cent of the oil had been cleaned up. This means the Gulf disaster was exaggerated, Tony Hayward was right after all about a small drop in a large ocean and, hey presto … Read More
100 Days That Changed the Industry .. Or Did it?
So we are 100 days into this disaster and what has changed? Well we have a new CEO of BP. The straight talking American Bob Dudley argues that the Gulf of Mexico spill has been “wake-up call not only for BP, but the oil and gas industry overall”. But will this wake-up call change the … Read More
Dispersant Row Intensifies
This is now becoming a comedy of tragic proportions. Last week the EPA ordered BP to find another dispersant after repeated warnings from scientists that its dispersant Corexit was untested on the sea-bed and too toxic. But BP is just ignoring the government and continuing to use the chemical. So far the company has poured … Read More
“Into the abyss of death”
Out of sight and out of mind. That is what dispersants do to oil. Repeatedly on this blog for the last month, we have warned about the dangers of using dispersants, especially at depths where the technique was essentially untested. Finally we are finding out what the use of disperants has done beneath the surface.
You Can Hide, But You Can’t Run
Now that BP’s jury-rigged contraption to contain its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spew has failed, the company’s only resort is to continue pumping massive amounts of dispersant into the water near the wellhead, in an attempt to – what exactly? The dispersant goes by the trade name “Corexit.” It’s supposed to be a pun … Read More
EPA Says Effect of Dispersants at Depth “Unknown”
Just days ago, BP’s CEO Tony Hayward said that the company would keep the oil from the beaches. It is yet another broken promise from the oil giant. Oil has now reached shore in Louisiana on the Chandeleur Islands, an important breeding and nesting area for birds. So far oiled birds such as gannets and … Read More